Expressionism in Germany and Beyond

In spring 2027, the National Gallery in London will host German Expressionism: Modern Painting 1900–1918, a major exhibition bringing together more than fifty works from collections around the world. For the first time at the National Gallery, paintings by members of Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter will be shown together, revealing how a generation of artists transformed modern painting through heightened colour, simplified forms and intense emotional expression.

This day school offers a focused and richly engaging introduction to German Expressionism and its place within the wider development of European modern art. Led by leading art historian Dr Michael Paraskos, the course invites you to look closely at the work of artists including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Max Pechstein, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc and Gabriele Münter. It will also ask broader questions. What did these artists mean by expression? Why did colour become so important to them? How did they respond to the modern city, landscape, sexuality and spirituality? And was Expressionism really an exclusively German phenomenon?

Working movement by movement, we will explore the formation of Die Brücke in Dresden, its rebellion against academic art and bourgeois convention, and its later encounter with the rapidly changing life of Berlin. We will then turn to Der Blaue Reiter in Munich and consider its artists’ interest in landscape, music, spirituality and the possibility of creating a new visual language. We will also examine how the social and political tensions of the years before the First World War shaped the movement, and how the outbreak of war brought this remarkable period of experimentation to an abrupt end.

The day will then move beyond Germany to consider Expressionism as a wider European phenomenon. We will explore related developments in France, the Low Countries and Scandinavia, as well as asking whether a distinctively British form of Expressionism can be identified. In doing so, we will consider the connections between German artists and figures such as Vincent van Gogh, James Ensor and Edvard Munch, together with the different ways artists across Europe used distortion, colour and expressive brushwork to communicate psychological, social and spiritual experience.

Throughout the day, the emphasis will be on looking carefully, thinking critically and developing confidence in interpreting works of modern art. By the end of the course, you will have a deeper understanding of German Expressionism, its principal artists and movements, and its place within a much broader European story.

This course is ideal for anyone with an interest in art history, Expressionism, European modernism or the cultural history of the early twentieth century.

No prior knowledge of art or art history is required.

For course content enquiries: Contact the Programme Manager, Dr Michael Paraskos, at m.paraskos@imperial.ac.uk

For enrolment and booking enquiries: Contact Christian Jacobi at c.jacobi@imperial.ac.uk

Class recordings

These classes are not recorded.

Imperial certificates

This course has no exams or assessments, so you can focus on enjoying your learning. Regular attendance may also lead to the award of an Imperial attendance certificate. (T&Cs apply).